Alva Taylor Named Faculty Director of Center for Digital Strategies

Taylor, an expert in innovation and new product development, succeeds M. Eric Johnson, who became Dean of the Owen Graduate School of Management in July.

Alva Taylor, an associate professor of business administration at Tuck, has been appointed Faculty Director of the Glassmeyer/McNamee Center for Digital Strategies (CDS).

The Center, endowed by alumni and technology venture capitalists Ed Glassmeyer and Roger McNamee, is dedicated to advancing the theory and practice of management in the digital, networked economy. Like other centers and initiatives at Tuck, the CDS fulfills its mission through scholarly research, dialog with executives, and curriculum innovation.

In his new role, Taylor will join executive director Hans Brechbuhl and his administrative team. Taylor has been affiliated as a professor with the center for several years, focusing on digital business. In that context, he has conducted research in the areas of innovation in database management, computer networks, and videogame development.

Taylor’s research examines organizational innovation processes, particularly the challenges of developing new products under technological change. His research methods mirror his interests as he creates and uses unique databases to test his ideas. His research has been published in the top strategy and management journals, including Administrative Science Quarterly, Organization Science, and the Academy of Management Journal. He is on the editorial boards of both Organization Science and the Strategic Management Journal, two premier management journals.

At Tuck, Taylor has taught the core Strategic Management of Technology course, and currently teaches the electives Managing Innovation and Strategy in Turbulent Environments to Tuck MBA students, while also teaching strategies for innovation and growth in various executive programs. As part of his commitment to teaching, he has written more than 15 original teaching cases for use in his classes.

Prior to Tuck, Taylor was a visiting professor at Northwestern’s Kellogg School of Management. His doctorate is from Stanford’s Graduate School of Business, and he holds master's degrees in both business and engineering from Cornell University.